Westport Country Playhouse to Present Lightwire Theater's MOON MOUSE, 3/20

Westport Country Playhouse's Family Festivities Series will present Lightwire Theater's "Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey," a cosmic adventure with music about Marvin the mouse, on Sunday, March 20, for two performances, at 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. Lightwire Theater is internationally recognized for its signature brand of electroluminescent artistry and poignant storytelling. Recommended for age 5 and up, the show runs one-hour. Tickets are $20.

Constantly bullied and picked on by the "cool" rats, Marvin the mouse is labeled as a looser and a geek. As respite from the continuous badgering, Marvin retreats into his science books and a world of fantasy. He longs to have adventures and to be the hero. Will Marvin make his dreams come true and experience the glory and acceptance he craves?

The musical score includes a wide variety of styles from pop, such as Elton John's "Rocket Man" and David Bowie's "Space Oddity," to classical as well as original compositions, in an effort to engage many age groups musically. Over 40 luminous characters will be operated by five performers.

Lightwire Theater has been featured as the winner of "Tru TV's Fake Off" (Season One), semi-finalists on "America's Got Talent" (Season 7), and as finalist on My TF1's "The Best le Meilleur Artiste" in Paris. Lightwire Theater is based in New Orleans and continues to create and deliver innovative theatrical experiences to audiences worldwide including Hong Kong, Taipei, Estonia, Canada, Russia, Europe, Belarus, China, and Abu Dhabi.

Pre-show activities will begin one hour before each performance, at noon and 3 p.m., in the Sheffer Studio, led by Mina Hartong, theater instructor at Regional Center for the Arts, and Jennifer Katona, lecturer and director of The City College of New York's graduate program in educational theater. The interactive theater workshop will offer kids and their parents an opportunity to play, move, and create scenes inspired by the show. Due to the structure of the activity, no new participants may be added more than 15 minutes after it has begun. Please arrive on time.

Family Festivities shows are presented on selected Sundays from November through April. Family Festivities Corporate Sponsors are Pitney Bowes and Northwestern Mutual. Family Festivities Partner is Darlene Krenz. The Family Festivities Series is also supported by the Westport Young Woman's League.

The final Family Festivities presentation for the 2015-16 Season is "Are You My Mother?," on Sunday, April 10, 1 and 4 p.m., a musical based on P. D. Eastman's whimsical and well-loved picture book, produced by ArtsPower, for grades pre-K and up.

In conjunction with the Family Festivities Series, the Playhouse hosts a book collection for Read to Grow, Inc., a statewide nonprofit organization that helps parents take an active role in their children's literacy development by providing free children's books to families with limited access and to community resources that serve them. At each Family Festivities performance, bins will be located in the Playhouse lobby for donations of gently used and new children's books which will be given to families and programs in the greater Fairfield County area through Read to Grow. During last season's Family Festivities series, the Playhouse collected nearly 300 books.

Everyone in the audience requires a ticket. For more information or tickets, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or toll-free at 1-888-927-7529, or visit Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, off Route 1, Westport. Tickets are available online 24/7 at www.westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to the Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), or view Playhouse videos on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse).

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